Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by Robert Scheer

Frontliners Brad Griffith (left) and Dave Utt go up for the block in a first-round win over Fremont. The two seniors helped Los Gatos win the first ever Central Coast Section boys' volleyball championship this spring.

Cats win CCS title

Boys' volleyball team beats Soquel in three straight

By Dick Sparrer

It's a first. Los Gatos has won the Central Coast Section boys' volleyball championship.

But it's not just a first for the Los Gatos boys' volleyball program--it's the first time any team has won a CCS boys' volleyball crown!

Los Gatos did it last Saturday night, and the Wildcats did it in impressive fashion with three straight wins over Soquel.

But, then, that's nothing new for the Cats. They beat everyone in three games this season.

And that wasn't just the regular season. The Wildcats swept through the field in the CCS playoffs, winning 12 straight games to win four straight matches.

Los Gatos wrapped it up with the 15-13, 15-3, 15-6 win over Soquel in the CCS championship game. But it began with ever-easier wins over Fremont Christian, Fremont and Monterey.

The Cats destroyed all three preliminary opponents, giving up no more than five points in any single game.

It all started with a lopsided 15-3, 15-4, 15-3 victory over Fremont Christian in the first round of the CCS playoffs. Los Gatos backed up that win with a one-sided 15-5, 15-2, 15-0 win over Fremont that sent the Wildcats into the CCS semifinals.

The Cats needed a win over Monterey to advance to the first-ever CCS title game, and they got it--easily. Los Gatos destroyed the Toreadores 15-2, 15-5, 15-5 to move into the title match against Soquel.

Gatos started slow against the Knights, but battled from behind to pull out a tight 15-13 in the first game of the title match. From then on, it was all Los Gatos.

Seniors Brad Griffith, Chris Schlink and Dave Utt and junior Keith Busam dominated the net as they led the Cats to back-to-back 15-4, 15-3 wins to claim the victory in the match.

Busam led the Cats with 17 kills in the championship match, and Schlink supported with 12.

Griffith, the talented setter for Los Gatos, and Utt led the block brigade and junior Peter Beritzhoff provided the serving strength to help the Cats cruise to the easy win.

Los Gatos needed to score 180 points in the four matches of the playoffs to clinch the CCS crown. In the process they allowed their opponents only 51 total points--an average of just 4.25 per game. And that includes Soquel's 13-point game to open the title match.

But that would come as no surprise to any team that played Los Gatos this spring. The Wildcats rolled through 20 opponents to a perfect 20-0 record.

That included 10 straight wins in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League as Los Gatos nailed its second straight league championship. A year earlier, the Cats won the title in the West Catholic Athletic League.

"We have not lost a match since the program began at Los Gatos last year," said talented Gatos head coach Tom Jack. "We've won 27 consecutive league matches, and 52 consecutive matches."

Los Gatos could add to that total by one this week. The Wildcats will be play one final exhibition match this week when they host the San Francisco City League champion in an honorary match on May 21. It will be one last chance for local volleyball fans to catch the Wildcats of 1997 in action on the court.

And as for the future of Los Gatos volleyball? Well, Griffith will be playing at Stanford, and Schlink will be on the court in San Diego. And talented seniors Jared Bond, Utt and Michael Bucher will graduate.

But the Wildcats? Well, they'll probably be making a return trip to the CCS playoffs.

Busam and Beritzhoff will both return, along with skilled players Devin Sodt, a junior, and Grant Schlink, a sophomore.

Junior Parnell Pang, sophomores Devan Denton and Stephen Pulley, and freshmen Jason Cardoso, Andrew Holcomb and Adam Stephenson are all on the returner list.

And all of them come back after experiencing a CCS championship.

That's a claim no other team in the Central Coast Section came make.

[ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ]